Tytler case: BJP accuses Congress of manipulating CBI

Stepping up its offensive on the issue of justice to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the BJP on Thursday alleged that the CBI had been employing "delaying tactics" at the behest of the Congress.

Stepping up its offensive on the issue of justice to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been employing "delaying tactics" at the behest of the Congress.

"The public wants to know on what basis a clean chit has been given to Tytler, but the CBI wants to hide the fact," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

The CBI filed its closure report in the case last week giving a clean chit to Tytler and argued before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Rakesh Pandit that the court did not have the power to try the case as it involved charges under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), that is, murder. Only a sessions court can try a case of murder.

"This (the seeking of transfer of the case from the CBI court to a sessions court by the CBI) is delaying tactics by the CBI at the behest of the Congress," Javadekar said.

"The victims' lawyer (HS Phoolka) has been threatened. So the opposition is being threatened, delaying tactics are being employed and the documents are being forged for getting a clean chit for Tytler in the case," he alleged.

Tytler, a former central minister, has been nominated by the Congress as the Lok Sabha poll candidate from Northeast Delhi. The CBI clearance sparked off widespread protests by members of the Sikh community in Delhi and Punjab.

The BJP spokesperson also said the Congress would have to "pay for the communal politics".

"The Congress has played with the emotions of the people. Today, the communal face of the Congress has been unmasked."